People try to take good care of the external surface of their bodies as well as those of their pets to enable good overall health. Specific skin related issues that people care about include, good skin health free of infections, good skin tone and adequate moisturisation. Oral cavity is another external surface that people take active care to maintain. They prefer their oral cavity including the gums and teeth to be free of problems like cavities, tartar, gingivitis, caries, and bad breath, also known as halitosis, and plaque. Hair and scalp care are also of concern to people. People generally prefer to have thick long hair with minimum hair fall. Dandruff is a commonly occurring scalp problem for which a fungal microorganism has been implicated.
All of the above surfaces including skin, oral cavity and scalp hygiene are generally achieved by keeping them free of infections. One way to tackle infections is to treat them with antimicrobials after the infection has set in. Another approach is to leave a minimal amount of antimicrobial active on the surface so that any invading microorganism is killed or inactivated so as to minimize spread of disease. Yet another approach has been investigated by the present inventors which is the approach of improving the innate immunity of the desired surface.
The present inventors have found that a specific fraction of Aloe vera extract enhances inter-cellular tight junction in skin cells thereby providing enhanced moisturisation of skin and reducing chances of skin infections. The invention also relates to using such a fraction in oral care compositions for improved gum health and in hair care compositions for improving strength of hair fiber and also as a anti-dandruff agent.
FR 2932386 (Dohan David Marcel, 2009) discloses a composition based on natural extracts for oral, dermal or mucosa application in humans or animal. The composition comprises at least three original natural bioactive compounds (of plant, animal or mineral) possibly with additional ingredients, where the application is done by means of: gel, toothpaste, irrigation solution for ultrasonic instrumentation (in dental), mouthwash or lozenge or chewable on oral tissues (preferably on the gums the mucosa of the cheeks and back of the tongue); or gel, cream, applicator stick or rinse solution on the tissue surface (skin, mucous membranes).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,679 (UNIGEN INC, 2002) discloses a method for the preparation and isolation of biologically active polysaccharides from Aloe. This includes the activated mixture of polysaccharides (referred to herein as “Immuno-10”), produced by the methods of the invention. The cited art also includes the use of the polysaccharides as immunostimulating, immunomodulating and wound healing agents. The resulting immunomodulatory complex has a higher activity and is more stable than bulk carbohydrates isolated using prior art alcohol precipitation schemes.
CN1948346 (Yunnan, 2007) discloses a fractional extraction method of aloe polysaccharides, which comprises the steps of adding 8-10 times of 95 percent alcohol into concentrated Aloe product, letting it stand and precipitating after mixing, following by filtering, and collecting the Aloe crude polysaccharide. Thereafter water is added and mixed to dissolve the polysaccharide followed by gradually passing it through first an ultra-filtration membrane whose molecular cut off is 200000-4000, then passing it through a nano-filter membrane to concentrate it for getting Aloe polysaccharides of different molecular weight. This publication discloses Aloe fraction of higher molecular weight fractions as compared to the present invention and so the advantages of the present invention would not be obtained.
It is thus an object of the present invention to prepare an active that provides enhanced immunity to a topical surface of a human or animal body.